Epcot Santa Makes Holiday Magic

So, I wasn't going to share this post because of how deeply personal it is, and the fact that it involves my daughter, D, but with all the horrible crap happening in the world today, I thought I could share with you a ray of light. A glimmer of good. Hope for magic.

Wednesday night, we went to Epcot to see Santa. The REAL Santa. Trust me, he's the real deal. We have seen him every year for the past three. At 8 years old, I wasn't sure how much D still believed, but she wanted to see him, so I was happy to take her. After D and her brother, K, sat with Santa and Mrs. Claus, D had this awful, worried look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she heart-breakingly divulged to me that she thinks Santa knows how "bad" she is and that he probably won't bring her anything this year. Well, I held her and cried for about an hour, right in the middle of Epcot, reassuring her over and over that she is good, she is kind, she is wonderful and that even on her worst day, she has NEVER been a "bad girl". I know she doesn't believe me. She was mentally abused into not believing me. Someday she might, but not now.

I assured her that Santa isn't watching her every move and waiting for her to mess up. He sees that her heart is kind and that is all that matters. Bad people are hateful, hurtful and don't wish well upon others. That is NOT who she is. She eventually (falsely) agreed that she's not bad. But that wasn't good enough for me.

I decided I'd dream big. I went to Santa's line greeter and quickly spouted, "I'm probably going to cry and I apologize, but my daughter just saw Santa. She previously lived in an abusive household before we adopted her, and right now she's very upset because she thinks that Santa knows she's bad. Is there ANY chance that we could-" The greeter, Leticia, I believe, interrupted me, asking where D was and insisting that I get her now, for a private audience with Santa. I went over and told D that Santa wanted to see her, and she collapsed in a ball of relief/excitement/fear/joy. I told her she didn't have to if it was too much, but she shouted that she wanted to. I explained to her that Santa's friend stopped me and said that Santa knew something was wrong when she went to see him the first time, and he wants to talk to her again.

The poor greeter. We stood there, both D and I, sobbing, waiting to see Santa again, snot running down our faces, I am sure. There were only 3 families left in the line and then Santa was done for the night. When it was our turn, the Photopass Cast Member said, "Hey, you were here before!" I stepped in and said, "Yes, but we are back for a very special reason. Is it ok if I talk to Santa?" I thanked Santa for "inviting us back" and explained to him that D was worried that he thought she hadn't been good, since some terrible people that D used to live with made her believe that, but that she actually is wonderful and kind and generous. Santa enveloped her in his arms and said, "You are a special girl. You're at the top of my Nice List. You are very, very good, and I know that." (This is what D told me, since he spoke directly to her.) Mrs. Claus looked at me with tears in her eyes and hugged D, telling her how wonderful she is, and how loved she is. They made her feel so special. Well, everyone within ear shot was in tears, myself included. When she came down from their seats, every Cast Member asked her for a hug and told her how great she is. They even hugged me and thanked me for bringing her back. When they walked by, Mrs. Claus grabbed my arm and said, "Thank you". I shook my head and said, "No, thank YOU. SO much. You don't know what this means."

It didn't solve everything. But for a moment, maybe even more, D believed. She believed in Santa. She believed in her own goodness. And she believed in Magic. I couldn't ask her a better Christmas wish come true. I hope you read this and some of that magic transfers to you, too! Please share this story with your friends and family, and keep spreading the magic! (Oh, and if you happen to know any of the Cast Members involved in this story, please tag them and make sure they know how special they are!) Happy Holidays, Everyone! #christmasmagic#santaisreal#disneymagic#magicalmoments#epcot#disneysanta#disney#disneyworld#waltdisneyworld#wdw